Day: December 17, 2008

Do you ever get the feeling that your makeup is not right for your face but everyone is too nice to tell you?

I bought some brownish eye shadows recently, thinking it’s fall, time for some browns, and I’ve been wearing it for the past several days.

Only, after I really looked at it, and I mean really evaluated it, it looked like I had been zombified. My eyes looked sunken into my skull and red rimmed, like I had been crying in between bouts of rubbing them really hard.

In short, yuk. I couldn’t stand to look at myself, so I bought more of my normal eyeshadow: “Pure Romance” by Cover Girl. And I look like myself again – which is a good thing?

I’ve never been very good with makeup. Ever. And I’m way too cheap to spend money experimenting. I figure, if it looks decent, then I will use it until it’s gone. I might try another shade when it’s time to buy more, but overall, I get my money’s worth – whether I should or not.

But the browns … oy. I just couldn’t hack the look. It just didn’t “feel” like me.

Or maybe I’m just stuck in a rut and am used to seeing myself a certain way, who knows.

I learned how to put makeup on from my friend, Melissa. We met and worked together at Wendys and soon became roommates. She was a larger girl, but you never NOTICED her weight because she always looked fantastic. Her hair was perfect. Her clothes were perfect. She always smelled amazing. And her makeup would put a makeup artist to shame.

She was pretty. She was put together. And she knew what she wanted in life. I was jealous of her.

I watched her. Not in a stalker-ish sort of way, but when she wasn’t looking. I would watch her get ready in the morning and make note of how she applied her eye makeup. It was fascinating to watch her swish one color on one part of her lid and another seemingly incompatible color on another part of her lid and it always worked. I think this might have been before they even made the shadows that came with different colors, she would mix and match single colors, which was even more impressive, in my book.

I had only been using one color on my lids up to that point. Again, I was a makeup virgin, and I still am, in a lot of ways. I don’t wear lipstick and in fact, lipstick just sort of … mystifies me. For instance, how do you KEEP it on? Anytime I’ve worn lipstick, it’s cracked and gathered in the folds of my lips and before long, it looks like a child colored my lips, in the dark. And how in the world do you choose which color looks best on you? I mean, you only have one shot, right? You buy the tube, you get home, you try it and you hate it.

Great, $5.00 down the drain.

But back to the eyeshadow. I wore one color and that was it. I wore makeup, but you would never know it. So, I started experimenting and when Melissa noticed I was interested, she coached me.

I looked better. I felt better. And I followed her advice.

That was back in the late 80’s.

I don’t feel like my makeup has changed much since that era. Every time I think I need to modernize and I try something, it just looks ridiculous, like I’m TRYING too hard. And in fact, I guess I was.

So when I finally found a color combination that looked decent on me, I’ve been loathe to try anything else. This works, why go through the headache of trying different colors or shades?

I used to (actually, I sort of still do), laugh at women who give advice on day makeup, or night makeup, or date makeup, or light makeup, or seasonal makeup …

It all just seems like a waste of money to me. It’s the same face, does the different makeup really make that much of a difference?

But what do I know about makeup?

Nothing. And that’s my point.

So, you think I’m exaggerating about our crazy weather, don’t you.

Take a gander at the drastic temperature drop from Sunday to Monday:

Since early Monday morning? Our temperatures haven’t been above freezing. Though our main roads are clear, our roads, our neighborhood roads are like marble – there’s absolutely no traction whatsoever – it’s like driving on an ice rink.

And yet, people continue to speed through our neighborhood. And yes, there have been wrecks. I don’t understand how people can be so arrogant to think that they are somehow exempt from icy roads. Or that just because they drive a big truck, they won’t slide around like every other poor mortal being who drives a smaller car. Honestly, are people THAT stupid?

Never mind, I don’t think I want to know.

The big story in our area right now is about a three-year old Amish girl who survived over 10 hours in this frigid weather. Some call it a miracle, others are calling it “lucky.”

I personally don’t believe in luck.

The story is: An Amish father and daughter were on their way home. The father placed the little girl into the horse and buggy and went to get in himself, only something spooked the horse and the animal took off, with the little girl.

The girl fell out of the buggy and no one could find her.

If you will look at the above temperature chart? This happened Sunday night. Temperatures started dropping at noon and went from 61 degrees to 18 degrees shortly after dark.

The girl didn’t have much outerwear on because at the time she was on her way home, it wasn’t that cold. And she had lost a shoe during the fall.

So, a three-year old girl, with virtually no protection – no coat, no hat, and only one shoe – somehow survived bitter cold temperatures (let’s not forget about the biting north wind and sleet [so now she’s wet with virtually nothing to help sustain her body temperature] because yes, we woke up Monday morning to ice) for some strange reason, and no logical explanation, was found to be in perfect health and didn’t die of hypothermia.

Wow. What a lucky little girl.

Bullcrap.

God was watching after that little girl. There’s no other explanation. When her family couldn’t find her they notified the authorities and after the story went public and dozens of people began praying for that little girl, she was found, quite by accident (by a passing motorist who happened to see the little girl curled into a fetal position in the ditch), cold, scared and hungry, but otherwise physically fine.

The comments on this news story just, well, they make me sad. It must be TORTURE to go through life not believing in God or in His wonderful power. How depressing it must be to live a life in darkness where nothing goes right and there is no hope. What an utterly sad way to live life.

It’s so sad, and so unnecessary, when a better, more rewarding life is just within reach if we just CHOOSE to reach out and take it.

*sigh*

I thank God that little girl is safe. One more life has been snatched back from our enemy – death.

Thank you, Heavenly Father. You’re awesome.